Many consider Javed Miandad, Hanif Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Zaheer Abbas as the most prolific batsmen Pakistan has ever produced. However, Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne opted to disagree with this.
While naming the best batsmen from all test playing nations he bowled against, Warnie revealed that former left-hand batsman Saeed Anwar was as the best Pakistani he ever bowled to in his career.
Anwar, a veteran of 55 Tests and 247 ODIs for Pakistan, held the record for the highest score in ODIs (194 against India) which is now taken over by Indian batsman Rohit Sharma (264). Anwar maintained an average of 45.52 in the five-day format, while in ODIs, he averaged 39.21 with the bat.
Against Warne, Anwar averaged 56.33 in six matches, second best in the list of other batsmen that the leggie named.
Warne unsurprisingly named Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara as his picks from India and West Indies respectively, while Graham Gooch got the nod as England's No.1 ahead of the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook.
He picked Aravinda de Silva as best Sri Lankan batsman ahead of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jaywardene. Mentioning de Silva’s heroics in the 1996 World Cup, Warne heaped praise on the stroke maker’s nimble footwork.
Though he acknowledged Andy Flower’s expertise with the bat, the Victorian preferred the gritty Dave Houghton who has a Test highest of 266. The wrist-spinner rounded off the list by including Bangladesh’s Mohammad Ashraful.
Here’s the full list:
Pakistan – Saeed Anwar
India – Sachin Tendulkar
England – Graham Gooch
New Zealand – Martin Crowe
West Indies – Brian Lara
South Africa – Hansie Cronje/Jacques Kallis
Sri Lanka – Aravinda de Silva
Zimbabwe – David Houghton
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